I sit here in the kitchen waiting for my mom to wake up. She is so weak and has aged years in the past months. Every morning I hope to see her open her eyes and acknowledge me. We don’t talk much but I feel so very close to her. And as crazy as this sounds, I know these days, I’ve been here before. I have had these feelings of love and peace in my heart before. I’ve taken this lesson once and I am ready for it again only this time I am better prepared.

When Frank was sick he would sit in the living room just looking out the window for hours. He would watch the people go to work, the kids go to school, life passing by… He would tell me that if he ever gets better again he will never ever complain. He would do ...